


Day 2: Love

by GemmaRose



Series: Lancelot Week [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Apologies, Getting Back Together, Jealousy, M/M, Pining, Pre-Poly, Shiro (Voltron) Has a Clone, past unhealthy relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 17:58:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12776382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: It shouldn't matterwhyLance is happy, only that he is. It shouldn't matter what keeps Lance loyal, only that something does. It shouldn't matter who Lance chooses to share his bed with, because they are nothing more than superior and subordinate.It does matter, though. It matters far too much.





	Day 2: Love

Lotor watched them out of the corner of his eye, keeping his face carefully neutral. Lance was happy, that was what mattered. He was content with his position as a General, the remote for the injector strapped to the vambrace of his off arm. He was content with the friendships he’d made within the crew, scratching under Kova’s chin as he chatted with Zethrid. He was content with his, ugh, _relationship_ with Project Kuron, leaning against the clone with the same contented expression he’d once worn when curling up to _him_ in bed.

Lotor looked back at the ship’s viewscreen, unable to keep his expression perfectly neutral. Lance was a pawn, a tool to be wielded against Voltron, nothing more. All that he needed for Lance to be a good pawn was to keep him happy, keep him loyal, so the fact that it no longer felt right to let that happen without his direct involvement was irksome. Lotor didn’t doubt that the human would go beast mode against the Paladins of Voltron in a heartbeat, if asked, but it stung worse than it should to know that Lance would do so out of love for everyone on this ship _except_ him.

Lance was happy, he was loyal, he was ruthless in battle, that was why Lotor had wanted him in the first place. How he stayed that way was irrelevant, or at least it should be. Having Lance firmly on his side of the war should be enough. But it didn’t feel like it, not anymore. Not when Lance ignored him and Kuron glared whenever he tried to start a conversation, the vitriol in his gaze strong enough to burn.

“We’re approaching the planet.” Ezor announced, and Lotor fought down a smile when he saw Lance perk up in his peripheral vision.

“Alright, time for a-”

“Not so fast, toothpick.” Zethrid rested one massive hand on his head, stopping him from jumping up into the air. “Glowy and I gotta go down and make sure it’s clear, first.”

“Aww, can’t I come?” Lance pouted.

“No.” Acxa said coolly. “We’ll need you here to man the cannons if this turns out to be a trap.”

“Which it won’t.” Lotor said confidently. “Narti’s intel hasn’t been bad yet.”

“We can never be too careful.”

“I’ll be alright, nene.” Lance chuckled in response to something Project Kuron said, and Lotor quickly squashed the flare of emotions which surged inside him. “I’ll join you planetside as soon as it’s clear, promise.”

It didn’t take a genius to puzzle out the general gist of the clone’s grumbling, especially when he glared at Lotor while Lance leaned up to kiss him goodbye. Not long after he saw the shuttle enter the planet’s atmosphere, Lance stood and slid his chair back in with one foot. “I’m gonna hit the training deck. Buzz me if they call, or you need cannons.” he left, and Lotor slumped in his seat. Propping an elbow on one arm of the chair, he rested his forehead in his hand. This was what he got for trying to be professional and trying to keep from being romantically involved with one of his direct subordinates.

“Go after him.”

Lotor lifted his head, and stared at Acxa in silent disbelief.

“You’ve been miserable for movements, ever since breaking up with him.” Acxa crossed her arms over the back of her chair and levelled a flat stare at him. “Suck it up and go apologize.”

“He wants nothing to do with me.”

“He does though.” Ezor frowned at him, craning her neck back in order to look at him without turning in her chair.

“And where did you get that idea?” Lotor frowned.

“Narti.” she grinned, pointing at the telepath, who had one earbud in to listen to her station and was petting Kova absently. Lotor couldn’t see her face, but he got the feeling she was smirking.

“Traitors.” he grumbled, but he did stand with a heavy sigh. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to get some practice in myself.”

“Don’t leave the place too much of a mess~” Ezor called after him. He barely resisted the urge to flip her off, but once the door to the bridge shut behind him he did drop his head in his hand and chuckle. Disrespectful though they were on occasion, it was never malicious, and what sort of leader would he be if he didn’t listen to the opinions of his own hand-picked elite? The door to the training room opened with a touch when he reached it, and he couldn’t help smiling slightly as he took in the sight of Lance in his element.

Rifle to his shoulder, he shot each holographic target with a low-energy bolt as it sped across the far wall. Really, it was no wonder Project Kuron had accepted when Lance turned to him for comfort. Nobody in their right mind would turn down an offer from someone so skilled, regardless of rank or species. Except, Lotor winced, himself. He’d rejected Lance, hurt him in a futile attempt to stem his own growing affections for the ex-Paladin, and his Generals were right. It was time for him to apologise, and to explain.

“Lance.”

The next shot grazed his cheek, a brief prickle of static against his skin, and as he watched Lance’s expression changed rapidly. Concentration to shock to fear to shame before he ducked his head, rifle falling to his side. “Apologies, Lotor.” he said stiffly. “I’ll-”

“Stay where you are.” Lotor said, and Lance froze. “We need to talk.”

Lance’s head snapped up at that, and the naked fear that flashed over his face before it settled into impassiveness made Lotor’s heart ache.

“At ease.” he said softly, stepping right up to the edge of Lance’s personal space but not invading it. “I’m not here to reprimand you.”

Lance cast his eyes down, teeth digging into his lower lip. Lotor didn’t need Narti’s skills to know that he was wondering why else Lotor was here if not to be cruel. “I’m here to-” Lotor paused, taking a deep breath. “To apologise, for how I’ve treated you.” he said slowly. He’d talked himself and his team out of countless situations, but somehow this felt more tense than any of them.

“When we first became involved, I-” shit, he couldn’t tell Lance the _truth_. He’d only started their relationship to make the human a more willing pawn, to manipulate him into staying long enough to grow more attached to them than he was to his old team. “I was, insincere.” he said after a few awkward ticks. “My affections for you were shallow, at first. Mostly appreciation for your record in the arena.”

Lance looked down, but Lotor caught the grimace on his face. Lance didn’t like thinking about the arena, about the prisoners he’d killed while beast mode was being wielded as a weapon against him. It was still kinder than the truth.

“Let me guess.” Lance chuckled, his smile sharp and eyes starstone-hard as he looked up at Lotor. “You realized you were starting to think about actually committing for real, and that’s when you dumped me?”

Lotor felt his mouth twitch, which was apparently enough of an answer for Lance because the human chuckled again, just as dry and humourless as before. “It’s almost funny, you know.” he smirked. “I was the exact same way, back when I was a Paladin. Then there was the arena, and then...” he shook his head. “I really thought that you could be The One, how sad is that?”

“Lance, I-”

“Never meant to hurt me, I know.” Lance’s smile turned soft, bittersweet. “I’ll try to get Kuron to quit bei-”

Lotor bent forwards, grabbed Lance by the shoulders, and pulled him into a kiss. Lance tensed in his arms, and his expression when Lotor pulled away was one of pure shock. “I made a mistake, ending our relationship.” he said quickly. “I was...” he grimaced. “Scared, to ask you to be my mate. But after watching you and Kuron together, I can’t-”

“Are you saying, you want me back?” Lance frowned, shrugging Lotor’s hands off his shoulders and stepping back. Not quite out of reach, his stride wasn’t long enough for that, but enough for the space to be noticeable. “You dumped me, and now you want _me_ to dump Kuron because you changed your mind?”

“I want my mate back.” he clarified. “I want the most funny, talented, _brilliant_ human I’ve ever met-”

Lance pressed a finger to his lips, smiling again but this time small and sad. “I love you, Lotor. I really do.” he pulled his hand away and looked down, his gaze settling on Lotor’s chest. “But, I’m happy with Kuron. He’s no _you_ , but he loves me, and I don’t want to hurt him.”

Lotor’s heart sank lower and lower with every word, and he couldn’t bring himself to care if it showed on his face. There had to be a way to fix this, to convince Lance to leave the cloned Black Paladin behind and return to Lotor’s side where he belonged, but he couldn’t think of anything. “Lance, _please_.”

“I’m sorry, Lotor.” tears welled in Lance’s eyes, his lower lip trembling. “I’m sorry, I just-” his breath hitched, and Lotor pulled him into a hug.

“Come back to me.” he murmured, carding his fingers through Lance’s hair. “Please, Lance. Come back, let me make you happy again.”

“I can’t.” Lance’s voice hitched as he pressed closer, ducking his head against Lotor’s breastplate. “I can’t choose between you and Kuron, Lotor. Please don’t make me.”

Lotor held Lance closer, tucking his chin against the back of the human’s head. Lance still loved him, and that made his heart soar, but that same love was making him cry right now. Even now, when he was so willing to activate beast mode and turn off his softer side, he was so caring. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, which was only possible if- if...

It was an idea, one which would complicate things but also ease Lance’s angst until he could figure a way to get rid of the problem for good. Until then, he would just have to be the bigger person. It wouldn’t be fun by any definition of the word, but for Lance’s happiness he was willing to try. “Lance...” he pulled back slightly, and waited until Lance’s head tipped to look up at him. His cheeks were streaked with tears, mucus running from his nose, slightly-parted lips trembling as he drew shaky breaths.

“It is not... viewed favourably, for galra to share their mate with another.” he said slowly. “But you are not galra.” Lance’s eyes widened, and Lotor lifted a hand to rest on Lance’s face, wiping at the wet corner of his eye with his thumb. “Is such a thing acce-” he stopped and shook his head. Lance had shown him once, where his home planet of Earth was, and they were far from there. The only human opinions which mattered were those of Lance and Project Kuron, if the clone could even be counted. “Would it make you happy, to be shared?”

Slowly, Lance’s lips pulled up in a smile. “I’ll have to ask Kuron, but...” he lifted a hand and scrubbed at his still-wet eye, then leaned into Lotor’s palm. “I don’t think I’d mind that much at all.”

“I love you.” Lotor bent down and pressed a kiss to Lance’s forehead.

“I love you too.” Lance smiled, wide and bright and _real_. “Missed saying that in Galran.”

Lotor let a happy little sound escape his throat, and pulled Lance back into a near-crushing hug. However the discussion with Kuron went, right now he had his mate back. And if he had any say in it, it would stay that way.


End file.
